By Rich Miller, Exec. Dir.
Gaming Industry Association By now everyone in the gaming business is aware that live poker has been enjoying a resurgence in popularity--largely thanks to the power of television.
According to the latest figures from the Gambling Control Division, there are 255 Montana licensees with a live game table license and of those 63 have licensed multiple tables. Along with the tables there are almost 400 people licensed as dealers.
I have been getting quite a few calls asking about statutes and rules, so maybe this is a good time to review the current situation in Montana.
Montana law requires a table license for the games of bridge, cribbage, hearts, panquingue, pinochle, pitch, poker, rummy, solo and whist when those games are played at tables open to the public. In addition, when poker and panquingue are played, a licensed dealer is required to be present and in control of the table.
Except during tournament play, prizes are limited to $300 per individual game of the authorized games.
All game rules must be clearly posted within sight of the players. Included in the posted rules must be a statement of the maximum house rake.
The rake must be taken in an "obvious manner" at the end of each betting round. The rake for the entire hand must remain visible until the hand is complete and the pot is awarded.
House players--shills--may be used to start and maintain a game and those players must be identified on the request of any player.
A licensee may lease space in the business to another person wanting to operate a licensed card game, provided that person has obtained a card room contractor license from Gambling Control.
In addition to the regular game, an operator of a card table may offer up to 12 tournaments per year with the proper licenses from Gambling Control.
These are just a few of the more basic requirements for operating a live card table and, as the statutes and rules are subject to change, I strongly recommend all operators become familiar with the most recent versions of them.
Current statutes for card games are in Title 23, Chapter 5, Part 3 of the Montana Code Annotated and may be found at this web address:
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The administrative rules are found Title 23, Chapter 16, Sub-Chapters 10-12 and most of the rules may be found at this web address: .
A complete paper copy of the statutes and rules may be obtained, for a small fee, from the Gambling Control Division by calling (406) 444-1971.
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, April, 2005, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.